President Bush reportedly is in a "political funk," but I’m just bushed (here and here). So to lift my spirits, I plan to go see Make It Funky, a new documentary about the musical heritage of New Orleans.
I’ve made many trips to the Crescent City, including one during which I attended a jazz mass celebrating Louis Armstrong at St. Augustine’s, the oldest predominately black Catholic church in the country. Established in 1841, the church is located in the shadow of the I-10 overpass in the now flooded Faubourg Tremé (and here).
I sat in a pew where slaves once prayed for help from a Republican president. President Lincoln answered their prayers. The whole world watched as their descendants -- the people whom former FEMA Director Michael “Brownie, You’re Doing a Heck of a Job” Brown told Jim Lehrer “we didn’t know exist” -- pleaded for help from President Bush.
Like black folks everywhere I will not forget Bush’s indifference. But for now, I want to remember that Sunday when following mass, the priest led the congregation in a second line parade through the neighborhood to Armstrong Park and Congo Square.
